                                  Mindgame

                                   for DOS

                                release v1.10
                                
                                Feb. 16, 1995


TECH STUFF        

        This text file should accompany the files MIND.EXE, BIG.FGF, and
SMALL.FGF, which comprise the Mindgame, as well as the three ancillary files,
MINDGAME.BAT, MINDWIN.ICO, and MINDOS2.ICO.  Mindgame reqires a 386 with an 
SVGA compatible video system with 640x400x256 colour, 640x480x256 colour or 
800x600x256 colour support and 512k of video RAM.  In order to achieve this 
resolution, users of older video cards may first need to load the VESA driver 
which came with the card (such as VESA.EXE, TVESA.EXE, VVESA.EXE, etc.) into 
memory.  To force Mindgame into either mode, run MIND.EXE with the maximum 
vertical resolution you desire.  To play at 640x480x256 resolution, run 
"MIND.EXE 480".

        Mindgame works under both Windows 3.11 and OS/2 "Warp", through full-
screen DOS windows.  Under Windows, you must set the working path to that in
which MIND.EXE resides.  Under OS/2, it is easiest to add it as a DOS program 
through the "Add Programs" tool under the System Setup folder.  Some day, I'll
do at least a Windows version.  In the mean time, there are icons for both 
Windows and OS/2 included with the game.  As of this writing, you may find 
the latest shareware version of Mindgame at 

                        iconoclast.psyc.brocku.ca

via anonymous ftp.  It currently resides in the /pub/Mindgame directory.

GAME PLAY

        The object of Mindgame is to deduce the colours of a row of pegs.  By
default, you have to guess the colours of four pegs in six attempts.  This is 
configurable, allowing peg row lengths between three and six, as well as
three through fifteen attempts.  You make your selections for each position
in the row by clicking on one of the large pegs appearing on the left side of
the screen.  You may undo a selection at any point before the row is completed,
by clicking anywhere on the screen with the right mouse button.  

        When you have chosen a row of pegs, your efforts are evaluated.  A 
correctly-guessed peg is awarded a white pip in the row of smaller black circles 
which appears on the right of the game board.  A peg of the correct colour but 
in the wrong location is awarded a blue pip.

        There are two sets of rules by which these award pips are placed in
the award row.  These reflect difficulty levels.  The normal - difficult -
rules place the blue pips first, followed by the white pips.  This gives you
an idea as to the numbers of pegs you guessed correctly in part or in whole.
Under the easy rules, the pips are placed from left to right in order of the
pegs guessed.  This means that if you have the third peg in the right spot,
and the fourth peg belongs in the second position, you will be awarded a white
pip in the third award position, and a blue pip in the fourth.

        Since only six rows may be viewed at once, when you select a number
of attempts in excess of this value, you must scroll through your attempts
with the up and down arrow buttons which appear to the right of the button
bar at that time.  These buttons do not appear when you have given yourself 
fewer than seven attempts: this is the default.  If you scroll the cursor off
the game board, you make not make selections; you will have to scroll back 
until the cursor is visible.

        The statistics manager is the newest addition.  You may keep the
records of as many simulataneous players as you like; when you enter the game,
you will be prompted to select a player from those you have already created,
or to create a new one.
        The statistics kept on each player include the wins and losses for the
two difficulty levels, as well as the average number of attempts made for the
four types of games you can play (three through six peg games inclusively).
Also, you may see your longest running winning streak, and any current streak
you have going.  See the bit about command line options further on.

        That's about it.  If you play Mindgame and find that I haven't 
explained something, or you'd like a feature added, electronically mail me

                      mike@iconoclast.psyc.brocku.ca

or drop me a note via snail mail at the P/O box below.  

COMMAND LINE

        Mindgame includes the use of several command-line arguments which 
allow you set up the game to your liking without using the setup dialog.  The 
switches used are explained below.  The syntax is MIND.EXE [optional argument] 
[optional argument] ....  For example, the command line

                            mind easy 480 i0 s0

would run Mindgame with the 'easy' rules, in 640 x 480 resolution, and without
sound or the intro screen, as explained below.

Argument        Meaning

a__             The 'a' indicates that you wish to set the number of attempts
                you are given to the number(s) immediately following.  Thus,
                a10 would set the game to ten attempts.  Valid attempt settings
                are 3 through 15.  The default is six.

easy            This argument turns on the easy rules.  Without this argument,
                the game awards pips according to the 'difficult' rules.

i0              This flag turns off the intro screen.  You would typically
                only want to sit through it when you want a refresh on game
                play.

n...            The name you wish to use for the purpose of keeping a record
                of your play.  Use this parameter by passing an 'n' followed
                by a name between two and 20 characters long.  Without this
                argument or the t0 argument, you will be asked to select a
                player name, or enter one if there aren't any in the mindstat
                file on disk.

p_              The 'p' indicates that you wish to set the number of pegs
                you have to guess to the value immediately following.  Thus,
                p5 would set the game to five pegs.  The default is four pegs.
                Valid values are three through 6.

s0              You may disable the silly (read annoying?) internal speaker 
                sounds in the game by using this flag.  (Note that when using
                the setup dialog without sound, there is nothing to tell you
                that you can't add or subtract pegs or attempts.)

t0              If no player name is given and this flag is passed, the stat-
                istics display feature is disabled.  Games played with this
                parameter are not recorded either.


___             A three-digit number where ___ is 600 for 800x600 resolution,
                480 for 640x480 resolution, and 400 for 640x400 resolution.
                Without this parameter, the game finds the highest resolution
                that your video card can manage; note that this might be
                higher than you monitor's best resolution capability.  If the
                game screen comes up wrapped around the screen horizontally,
                this might be the case.  Try forcing the game into each of the
                modes until you find one which works.  As noted above, some
                SVGA-capable cards will require that you load a VESA driver
                first.  This is typically possible by finding a small program
                by the name of VESA.EXE on your system and running that
                prior to MIND.EXE.

        To play the game with the same settings every time, you can make a
simple batch file by using a text editor like the MS-DOS Editor 'EDIT' with
the word MIND and the arguments with which you like to play as its sole 
contents.  I have included a batch file called MINDGAME.BAT which runs the
game with five pegs to guess and ten attempts in which to guess them.

        If you'd like to support me in the development of games like this,
send me a note of encouragment.  Small donations are particularly encouraging.


                             Michael Werneburg
                               80 King Street
                               P/O Box 24058
                            St. Catharines, Ont.
                                  L2R 7P7
